Conveyer roll



Feb. 25, r c LWEN 2,232,765

CONVEYER ROLL Filed Sept. 28, 1938 6 //7&

, 3nvenfor CHARLES E. BL/VEN.

T1 E By attorney Patented Feb. 25; 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT orrice Charles E. Bliven, Charleston, W. Va., assignor to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September- 28, 1938, Serial No. 232,031

8 Claims. (01. 49-14 The present invention relates broadly to roll conveyers and more particularly to improvements in the supporting and conveying rolls, employed in sheet glass annealing leers. v

In the production of sheet glass, itis customary to pass the newly formedsheet throughan annealing leer wherein the glass is annealed and gradually reduced to room temperature. rdinarily, the sheet is supported upon and con-- 10 veyed through the leer by a series of spaced rolls. One type of roll which has been employed for this purpose consists o1 a metallic shaft upon which are loosely mounted a series of discs preferably of asbestos or some other relatively soft, 15 heat resisting material. These discs are clamped tightly against one another upon the shaft by means of metal tie-rods which pass loosely through the said discs and are connected at their opposite ends to collars or the like fixed to said go shaft.

This type of roll construction has, however, not proven entirely satisfactory as experience has shown that under the relatively high heat to which the leer rolls are subjected, especially in 25 the entrance end of the leer, the metal shafts tend to expand in the direction of their length and this is also true of the metal tie-rods which extend through the discs. This lengthening of the shafts and tie-rods results in the .30 clamping action upon the discs being reduced to such an extent that the said discs frequently become loose on the shafts. As the glass sheet which is being transported by the rolls is still relatively soft, there is a tendency for the glass 35 to sag between the loose discs and also' .to be pinched therebetween, thus causing the formation of objectional surface impressions in the sheet. Further, when the discs become'loose,

there is a tendency for them to wear irregularly 0 so that the outer cylindrical surfaces thereof lose their original form and cause marking of the glass. I

It is an object of this invention to provide a oonveyer roll of this type of improved construction whereby it can be subjected to intense heat over a relatively long period of time without resulting'inthe loosening of the discs, thereby avoiding those objections referred to above as being present in prior art rolls.

50 Another object of the invention is to provide an improved conveyer roll of this type embodying novel means'for clamping the discs against one another upon the shaft in such a mnnerthat linear expansion of the shaft will result in the 68 said discs being more tightly clamped against one another rather than tending to loosen the same,

A further object of the invention is'to provide an improved conveyer roll of this type of relatively simple, durable construction; which is possessed of a long life in the temperatures in g which it is to be used; and which is of such character that it will not injure the surface of the glass with which it contacts.

,Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Fig. l is a longitudinal vertical section through a portion of a sheet glass annealing leer equipped with conveyer rolls provided by the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of one of the rolls;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the roll taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a detail section showing an alternate construction.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates an annealing leer through which the glass sheets 6 are being carried horizontally upon a series of rolls 1. The leer may be heated in any desired manner, such as by means of the gas burners 8. This invention is of course not limited to any particular type of. leer and likewise the glass sheets 6 may have been previously formed in accordance with any desired method of sheet glass manufacture.

Theconveyer rolls 1 forming the present inven-- tion, each comprises a supporting shaft 9 pref- 5 erably in the form of a metallic tube or rod, and

'rotatably mounted at its opposite ends in any desired manner. The glass supporting and conveying portion of the roll consists of a plurality of discs Ill arranged loosely upon the shaft 9 and 40 preferably formed from a sheet asbestos which will retain its shape and not injure the surface of the glass. Obviously, however, the discs may be of some other relatively soft and compressible, heat resisting material.

After a suflicient number of the discs Ill have been piaced upon the shaft 9, they are adapted to be tightly clamped together in direct contacting relation to present an unbroken surface. The means for clamping the discs against 6 one another comprises the metal tie-rods II and II which pass loosely through thesaid discs and are connected at one end to the collars I3 and H respectively. v The collars" and II are keyed to the shaft 9 outwardly of the discs by set M 2 s eaves screws or the like I! and i6 respectively. While in the construction illustrated in the drawing, there are provided two tie-rods H and two tierods II, it will be appreciated that any desired number may be used.

The tie-rods I I pass through the discs Ill in one direction, while the tie-rods I! pass through the.

II is arranged at the opposite end of the discs inwardly of the heads 22 of tie-rods l2. With this construction, it will be readily seen that upon tightening of the nuts I! and II, the tie-rods H and I! will be drawn in opposite directions to compress the discs l0 and clamp them tightly against one another to present an unbroken sur- 25 face for contact with the glass.

According to the invention, the metal tie-rods II and II have a relatively lower coeflicient of expansion than the metal shaft 9 so that the linear expansion of the shaft, under the heat to so which it is subjected when in use, will result in a further tightening of the discs upon the shaft rather than in the loosening thereof. To this end, the tie-rods are preferably made of Invar, which is a well known commercial ironnickel base alloy of low thermal expansion, al-

though other iron-nickel and related alloys of the Invar" type may also be used.

In practice, when the shaft 9 expands or lengthens under the heat to which it is subjected, the collars l3 and M will naturally move apart with such expansion. However, inasmuch as the tie-rods II and I! have a relatively lower coefficient of expansion than the shaft, they do not expand or lengthen to the same extent as does the 5 shaft. Consequently, the outward movement of the collars l3 and M will serve to draw the tierods H and I! in opposite directions, thereby moving the plates III and 2| closer together to increase the clamping pressure upon the discs so that they are held together even more securely than when assembled cold.

' In Fig. 4 is illustrated a slightly modified construction in which there is threaded upon each of the tie-rods II and I2, outwardly of plates 20 and 2|, a nut 23 which bears against the respective plate. The nuts 23 are provided for the purpose of eliminating any tendency for the plates 20 and 2! and discs III to tilt relative to and bind upon the shaft upon compression of so the discs during linear expansion of the shaft caused by heat.

Although the rolls 1 have been herein specifically referred to as leer rolls for use in sheet *glas annealing leers, it will be apparent that they are not limited to such use but may be employed in various types of heat treating furnaces and for transporting different kinds of material.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same. and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or 15 the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

l. A conveyer roll, comprising a metal shaft, 9. series of discs of compressible, heat resisting material loosely carried upon said shaft, collars fixed to said shaft at the opposite ends of said discs, 5

- a metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment at one end engaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through one of said collars, a second tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in 10 the opposite direction and having an abutment at one end engaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through the other collar, and nuts threaded upon said tie-rods outwardly of and engaging said collars for drawing the said tie-rods in opposite directions to clamp said discs against one another to present an unbroken surface.

2. A conveyer roll, comprising a metal shaft. a series of discs of compressible, heat resistin material loosely carried upon said shaft, collars fixed to said shaft at .the opposite ends of said discs, a metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment at one end engaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through one of said collars, a second tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in the opposite direction and having an abutment at one end engaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through the other collar, and nuts threaded upon said tie-rods outwardly of and engaging said collars for drawing the said tie-rods in opposite directions to clamp said discs against one another to present an unbroken surface, said tie-rods having a relatively lower coeillcient of expansion than said shaft.

3. A conveyer roll, comprising a metal shaft, a series of discs of compressible, heat resisting material loosely carried upon said shaft, collars fixed to said shaft at the opposite ends of said 40 discs, 9. metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment at one endengaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through one of said collars, a second tie-rod passing loosely through the discs 45 in the opposite direction and having an abutment at one end engaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through the other collar, nuts threaded upon said tie-rods outwardly of and engaging said collars for drawing the said tie-rods in opposite directions to clamp said discs against one another to present an unbroken surface, and means carried by said tie-rods inwardly of said collars and bearing against opposite ends of said series of discs for preventing the said discs 55 from tilting upon said shaft upon tightening of the said tie-rods.

4. A conveyer roll, comprising a metal shaft, a series of discs of compressible, heat resisting material loosely carried upon said shaft, collars fixed to said shaft at the opposite ends of said discs, a metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment at one end engaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through one of said 001- lars, a second tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in. the opposite direction and having an abutment at one end engaging the series of discs and its opposite end received through the other collar, nuts threaded upon said tie-rods outward- 1y of and engaging said collars for drawing the said tie-rods in opposite directions to clamp said discs against one another to present an unbroken surface, and nuts threaded upon said tierods inwardly of said collars and bearing against 10 opposite ends of said series of discs for prevent-- ing the said discs from tilting upon said shaft upon tightening of the said tie-rods, said tierods having a relatively lower coeflicient of expansion than said shaft. I

5. A conveyer roll, comprising a metal shaft, a series of discs of compressible, heat resisting material loosely carried upon said shaft, a metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment engaging the series of discs at one end thereof, means for connecting the opposite end of said .tie-rod to said shaft, a second metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in the opposite direction and having an abutme engaging the series. of discs at the end thereof opposite the end engaged by the abutment on said first tie-rod,

and means for connecting the opposite end of said second tie-rod to said shaft.

6. A conveyer roll, comprising a metal shaft, a series of discs of compressible, heat resisting material loosely carried upon said shaft, a metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment engaging the series of discs at'one end thereof, means for connecting the opposite end of said tie-rod to said shaft, a second metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in the opposite direction and having an abutment engaging the series of discs at the end thereof opposite the end engaged by the abutment on said first tie-rod, and means for connecting the opposite end ofsaid second tie-rod to said shaft, said tie-rods having a relatively lower coeiiicient of expansion than said shaft.

'7. A conveyer roll, comprising a netal shaft, a series of discs of compressible, heat resisting material loosely carried upon said shaft, a metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment engaging the series of discs at one end thereof, means for connecting the opposite end of said tie-rod to 6 ,a series of discs of compressible, heat resisting material loosely carried upon said shaft, a metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in one direction and having an abutment engaging the series of discs at one end thereof, means for connecting the opposite end of said tie-rod to said shaft, a second metal tie-rod passing loosely through the discs in the opposite direction and 25 having an abutment engaging the series of discs 4 at the end thereof opposite the end engaged by the abutment on said first tie-rod, means for connecting the opposite end of said second tierod to said shaft, and means associated with 30 the ends of the tie-rods which are connected to said shaft for drawing said tie-rods in opposite directions to clamp said discs against one another to present an unbroken surface, the said tie-rods having a relatively lower coeflicient of 35 expansion than the said shaft.

CHARLES E. ZBLIVEN. 

